G. Sathiyan and Archana Kamath made it a golden day for India by clinching the mixed doubles crown, but it was the 17-year-old Pang Yu En Koen of Singapore who stole the show by stunning second seed and favourite A. Sharath Kamal in a sensational quarterfinal of the 21st Commonwealth table tennis championship on Sunday.
Pang, a promising paddler from Singapore, had entered the main draw through a tough qualification group.He continued in the same vein, edging past Manush Shah in a battle between the lefthanders that stretched to the decider. Pang then shocked seventh seed Olajide Omatoyo in straight games before staging a sensational comeback against Sharath.
Battling on
His opponent Sharath, who lost in the mixed doubles semifinals with partner Sreeja Akula, was grappling with a severe backache.
However, the World No. 32 left the near-packed stadium and also Pang, ranked 376th, spellbound with an incredible string of winners in the fourth game to race ahead 3-1. The young Singaporean fought back, forcing Sharath to commit unforced errors. In the deciding game, Sharath’s experience came to the fore and he had three match-points while serving at 10-7.
However, the Indian missed his serve, sparking off a five-point run for Pang and culminating in one of the biggest wins of his career.
Pang will meet Harmeet Desai in the singles semifinal on Monday.
While Pang and Goi couldn’t repeat the magic against Sathiyan and Archana in the mixed doubles final, Pang will hope to give Harmeet Desai a run for his money in the singles semifinals on Monday.
The results: Mixed doubles: Final: G. Sathiyan & Archana Kamath bt Pang Yu En Koen & Goi Rui Xuan (Sgp) 11-1, 11-7, 11-4; Semifinals: Sathiyan & Kamath bt Harmeet Desai & Ayhika Mukherjee 11-2, 11-2, 11-9; Pang & Goi bt A. Sharath Kamal & Sreeja Akula 13-11, 8-11, 6-11 11-8, 11-4.
Singles: Quarterfinals: Men: G. Sathiyan bt Bode Abiodun (Ngr) 11-7, 11-8, 11-8, 11-6; Thomas Jarvis (Eng) bt Sanil Shetty 11-5, 11-8, 8-11, 13-11, 12-10; Harmeet Desai bt Sushmit Sriram 11-4, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 11-8; Pang Yu En Koen (Sgp) bt A. Sharath Kamal 7-11, 9-11, 11-8, 4-11, 11-9, 11-7, 12-10.
Women: Ho Tin-Tin (Eng) bt Archana Kamath 11-9, 7-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-6; Ayhika Mukherjee bt Mousumi Paul 11-6, 11-6, 11-2, 11-8; Sreeja Akula bt Sutirtha Mukherjee 11-5, 11-6, 11-9, 17-19, 6-11, 17-15; Madhurika Patkar bt Krittiwika Sinha Roy 11-4, 9-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-9 .
